Joy De Vivre
by twopigtails
Summary: Life can be messy. Thank heavens Marinette had a lucky black cat to come and make life easier.


_Joy De Vivre  
_ **1 - Milk Aficionado**

Marinette was a simple girl. She enjoyed life's simple pleasures too. Blame it on her country upbringing if you wanted. It didn't take away from her _joy de vivre_.

She liked fancy tea cups and saucers. Bread from local bakeries. Street performers on the corners of streets and their, "bonjours!" And especially fashion. Marinette gravitated towards these things and they filled her with a sense of content.

Something she didn't find herself gravitating towards where animals. She didn't _dislike_ them, she just was never an animal person, besides, Marinette thought to her guilty conscience, she was pretty positive she was allergic.

So you can't get on her case when one day a little kitty appeared on her doorstep after she came home from class. He was black, shaggy, and would probably make her nose run like a leaky faucet. _Ugh_. This wasn't her first encounter with a tried to shoo him away, but he didn't budge.

"I hope your not looking for a home _minou_ ," She spoke to the stray, "because I can hardly take care of myself."

He almost seemed to have shrugged, as if to say, _eh whatever i'm still not leaving_.

Marinette turned her nose up at him suspiciously and stumbled into her apartment. It wasn't much, actually there wasn't much in her place at all. Her mom had tried to buy her furniture but Marinette refused, her reasoning being that she would find things for her place in time. Why rush?

"Maybe you should get a pet," her mama cooed when she first moved in, "a friend to keep you company while you're all alone in the city."

Looking back on it, Marinette did feel a tad lonely since moving to Paris. Without her parents and her neighbors around she didn't know anyone in the city. Not that she wasn't o.k. being by herself because she was! Marinette passed her time reading, baking, finishing her homework, being a shut in, talking to exclusively herself...

A scratching sound caught her attention.

Marinette raced to the door and opened it to find that the kitty started running his claws up and down. She gasped dramatically, "You dumb cat! If the landlord sees this he's gonna kill me!" She glared at him and she swore she could see him grinning. Well, if cats could grin.

She almost started to scold the cat before she took pity on him, the poor dingy thing. All he needed was a meal and a place to sleep for the night. Couldn't she give him at least that?

Two fingers picked him up by his scruff as Marinette closed the door. With her other hand she held up her index finger, "One night. One."

The cat meowed, _I wouldn't be so sure about that._

* * *

First things first, Marinette dropped him in the sink and gave him a thorough bath. Strangely he seemed to really enjoy it and Marinette was weirded out as he started to purr when she rubbed soap on his dusty head.

Next she gave herself her own bath and looked at her new acquaintance. As the hot water dumped into the tub she picked him up and placed him on the bathroom counter, "You need a name _minou._ Let's think what to call you hm?"

Marinette thought herself into a deep silence. And she was halfway done with her bath before she decided. Snapping her fingers she stood up and announced, "Ah! You'll be my little prince. My princely Chat Noir." It was cheesy and she loved it because it was cheesy. Nothing about the cat was royalty like and so Marinette thought the name suited perfectly, if that made any sense.

Her prince just wished his fluffy tail as his eyes were too slivers of almonds watching her climb out. Marinette draped a pink towel around her torso as she made her rounds. She visited the kitchen to grab a slice of bread a juice box and then headed towards her bedroom. All of this was done as Chat Noir was right on her heels.

They both laid together on her bed as Marinette chewed her dinner. They laid for a long time Marinette not even bothering to close her eyes. In the dark she spoke more to herself than to the kitty. "It's hard to sleep listening to city outside."

Chat Noir rested his body on her stomach. His coat was long but clean nonetheless and almost all of Marionettes abdomen. , "But being a cat, you can just doze off whenever you'd like...isn't that nice?" ,Marinette looked into his green eyes.

Suddenly she felt very sleepy.

* * *

Marinette had a dream she could only describe as tea with milk. It was pleasant. She dreamed of a figure she hardly recognized. It was a boy, and as he walked closer to her she noticed his eyes were _green_. So green that the color seemed to spill out into the sclera.

She placed down her pretty cup, "Hello."

"Hello." He replied before looking around him. "You don't really dream big do you?" The person said, gesturing to her dreams setting. Marinette was sitting in her parents garden drinking some tea her mother made her, like she always did on her breaks from the bakery.

"Its nice here miss" ,He spoke again.

Marinette tried her best to figure out who this stranger was, but it was a fruitless effort. He reminded her of chalk lines someone had tried to erase. Fuzzy but still barely there.

"What's your name?" She asked him.

He sat down with her at the little metal table, "Oh, you should know that miss." a handsome smile spread on his face before he took her hand and guided the cup to his mouth. One sip, two sip.

"I'm sorry but i don't know anyone from this area." Marinette said confused.

The stranger placed down the cup curtly before leaning in, whispering to her, "I'm your prince. Here to wake you up, princess."

* * *

It was like she was in a movie, that's how Marinette woke up, flinging white and pink pillows around when she sprung up from her mattress. What an odd dream. She began to remake her bed before noticing something was missing, her Chat Noir.

"Kitty?" She whispered, "Don't get mad if I step you."

It was still black outside, Marinette bit her lip with her canine and wondered what time it was. The last thing she wanted to happen was to be late for class.

She wandered into the hallway, "Chat?"

Suddenly a clink rang out, and Marinette's breath hitched. _Oh God, this is it. This is what mama was talking about. Someones in my house going to kill me, steal my juice and my cat. Oh God._

Boldly the young girl stepped around the corner, poked her head into the kitchen, and screamed.

The thing she was screaming at was a boy. A naked boy. A naked boy by her fridge drinking her milk. He suddenly started to choke as she continued to panic. "Please you can have all my milk I swear." Marinette whined.

The Boy waved his hands around, swallowed and spoke, "Stop screaming youre gonna wake someone up."

Marinette looked offended that an intruder had told her what to do, "Beg pardon? You're intruding in my home and drinking _my_ milk." She made a point by snatching the cartoon and holding it up, "This stuff isn't cheap you know?"

The strange gave her a rather put out look, before she caught herself Marinette started to raise her voice, "Is there a reason why you broke into my house and raided my fridge?"

"Well to start with, one, I didn't intrude, you let me in, and two-"

"No I did not!"

" _Two_ , I happen to notice your milk was almost expired and i couldn't let good milk go to waste." The still nude man said putting his hands on his hips. "And yes you absolutely let me in."

Marinette's head started to hurt, how was this all happening and why. Why her. She was just a poor baker's daughter trying to go through school.

She looked at the stranger again, suddenly feeling a wave of deja vu come across her. "Have we met?" she asked slowly.

"Oh yes, today actually. Funny enough, i don't even know your name yet ha…" He stated awkwardly. He could see on her face though that she didn't understand a lick of what he was saying.

Marinette tip toed towards him, eyeing him before saying, "This is a dream you're the guy from earlier. First you were in my parents garden and now you're butt naked in my kitchen."

He laughed, "Yes and no. I was in your dream earlier but left," he patted his stomach, "I got kinda hungry."

"So this isn't a dream, this is real?"

"Very."

"Who are you?" Marinette asked.

He grinned, and what a handsome smile he had, bowing he answered. "Your princely Chat Noir."

* * *

*throws confetti in the air*


End file.
